


It Will Be Okay

by meils121



Category: Leverage
Genre: Established Relationship, Multi, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:15:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25871218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meils121/pseuds/meils121
Summary: Hardison is the one who helps Eliot the most when he has a bad nightmare.  He knows the words to say and the ways to ground Eliot and how to keep him from going from a nightmare to a flashback.  Parker tries, she really does, but words are still hard and she’s scared she might make the situation worse.
Relationships: Alec Hardison/Parker/Eliot Spencer, Parker/Eliot Spencer (Leverage)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 100
Collections: The Leverage Exchange Master Collection





	It Will Be Okay

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BiP](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BiP/gifts).



Living together is at once both odd and just right. Parker finds she likes being able to come home and curl up around Hardison. She likes the early morning conversations she and Eliot have while he’s making waffles. She likes knowing that it’s the three of them, that they are together and safe and whole. It’s been a long time since she really wanted to be around other people all the time, a long time since she trusted anyone to share her space. Maybe it should feel weirder than it does. But, Parker thinks, it’s Hardison and Eliot and they aren’t just people. They’re her boys. Her team. 

Some things take longer to get used to, though. Like waking up to an arm slung over her body. It takes a moment to remember that it’s just Hardison, not some unknown entity trapping her. Or like the fact that Eliot can be almost as quiet as Parker, when he wants to, and Parker’s not used to being the one snuck up on. But they work those things out and things are okay.

They sleep in a giant bed, big enough for the three of them and probably all of the dogs Parker thinks they should adopt. Eliot gets the middle. He tried saying that he’d sleep on the side, only for them to learn that he would get up once they fell asleep to go sleep on the couch. Parker had been sad, then. She thought maybe Eliot didn’t actually want to be with them. 

That wasn’t the case, though. Eliot has nightmares, bad ones. He says he left because he didn’t want them to have to deal with them too. Parker isn’t so good with words in situations like these, but she wraps her arms around Eliot and presses a kiss to his forehead. By the way the tension leaves his body, she thinks maybe she doesn’t need words right now. She lets Hardison speak, lets him tell Eliot that they are here for each other no matter what. 

Hardison is the one who helps Eliot the most when he has a bad nightmare. He knows the words to say and the ways to ground Eliot and how to keep him from going from a nightmare to a flashback. Parker tries, she really does, but words are still hard and she’s scared she might make the situation worse. 

He doesn’t get nightmares often, anymore, but he still sleeps in the middle, where Parker can hug him and Hardison can calm him down. It’s nice, Parker thinks. They get to protect their protector.

It’s in the middle of a particularly hot August that Hardison decides to take a few days to go to some geek convention that Parker doesn’t understand. 

“We’re staying here.” Eliot says. “You have fun with your geek buddies.”

Hardison’s been gone two days when a storm rolls through Portland and the power is knocked out. Which, sadly, means no air conditioning. It’s a good thing their bed is so big, Parker thinks, because if Eliot so much as breathes on her she might actually melt. 

“Night, Eliot.” She says softly into the darkness. She hears Eliot shift, getting comfortable.

“Good night, Parker.”

Parker wakes up to screams. She jerks upright, looking for an intruder, before she realizes that it’s Eliot and he’s having a nightmare. Panic sets in. She doesn’t - this is what Hardison does, not her. 

“Eliot?” She says, fumbling for the light switch. In the dim light, she shakes him, trying to pull him out of the bad dream. “Come on, Eliot, wake up.”

What would Hardison do? Parker runs through the list in her head, trying to quiet the panic. This is - she can mastermind her way through this. At least, she hopes she can. 

Parker sets her hand on Eliot’s forehead, careful of his thrashing limbs. Soft touches, she thinks. He needs the opposite of whatever bad thing happened to cause this dream. She smooths his hair down and keeps talking, trying to keep her own voice steady. 

“Eliot, it’s just a dream. You’re safe. You’re safe, and I’m safe, and Hardison is safe. We’re at home. Remember?” Please remember, she thinks. 

Eliot’s eyes open, pure fear staring up at Parker. 

“Okay.” Not okay. “Keep looking at me. Just - can you talk? Do you see me?”

Eliot’s eyes dart around the room, looking for danger, before coming back to stare at Parker. He gives a barely noticeable nod. 

“Good. We’re in bed. You had a nightmare.” Parker says. Facts, she thinks, are a good place to start. She knows facts. “There’s no one else here and we’re all safe.”

Eliot’s breathing is starting to calm. That’s good, Parker thinks, except right now she doesn’t know what to do next. She looks at Eliot and goes to move her hand from his forehead. As soon as she does, though, the fear seems to return to his eyes. 

“Oh.” Parker says, realizing something for the very first time. Hardison’s not the only one who knows how to help Eliot. Maybe she doesn’t need all the words he has. “Okay. I’m going to hug you, okay?” 

Eliot curls into the hug, tucking his face against her neck. Slowly, his body stops trembling. His hand grasps her shirt and Parker presses a kiss to the top of his head. The sticky summer heat is a bit much, but Parker doesn’t care. She’s got Eliot and he’s safe and he trusts her. 

They fall back to sleep that way, tucked together and protecting each other against a world that never understood them. Hardison would be back tomorrow, and things would be okay.


End file.
